There is no doubt that whales are amazing beings, as studies have revealed that the communication of various cetacean species follows linguistic principles that were believed to be exclusive to humans. In particular, the songs of humpback whales, as experts have shown that they have hierarchical structures and efficiency patterns similar to speech.
In this sense, humpback whales produce complex songs that are culturally transmitted among populations thousands of kilometers apart. According to marine biologist Ellen Garland from the University of St Andrews, these musical changes resemble the evolution of pop music and fashion in humans. Her team, after eight years of study, found that the songs of these whales comply with Zipf’s law, a linguistic rule that describes the relationship between word frequency and length in any human language.
Another study, led by Mason Youngblood at the State University of New York, analyzed over 600,000 communication records in 16 cetacean species and discovered that many of them also follow Menzerath’s law, which states that in longer phrases, individual elements tend to be shorter. This indicates a principle of economy in their communication, sometimes even more efficient than in humans.
Efficiency in communication is key in the animal world. Cetaceans like killer whales and blue whales have developed vocalizations optimized for the transmission of information in aquatic environments, where sound is the primary form of interaction.
Beyond Human Language
Although these findings do not mean that whales possess a language like ours, they do reinforce the idea that communication in the animal kingdom is more complex than previously thought. According to linguist Ramón Ferrer i Cancho, these discoveries challenge the notion that human language is entirely unique and suggest that the foundations of efficient communication are present in multiple species.
Ultimately, these studies open the door to new research on how cetaceans structure their messages and what can be learned from them about the evolution of language.
How do humpback whales communicate?
Humpback whales communicate through:
- Low-frequency sounds: these cetaceans produce low-frequency sounds with their larynx. Their vocalizations can be complex and consist of various units, phrases, and themes.
- Clicks and whistles: whales emit clicks and whistles to communicate.
- Fluke slapping: these mammals also communicate by repeatedly slapping their flukes.
- Communication with their calves: they communicate with their calves through whispers to avoid being detected by predators.
- Visual communication: humpback whales also communicate through gestures like breaching, pectoral fin movements, or “S” postures.
In fact, in December 2023, scientists from the SETI Institute and the University of California Davis established a “dialogue” with a humpback whale named Twain.
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